Updates

June 1, 2026 Equity markets continued their rally through May, extending the S&P 500’s positive return streak to eight weeks in a row, the longest stretch since 2023. Tech companies’ strong earnings drove the index to a record high. Raymond James Chief Investment Officer Larry Adam expressed confidence in the market’s underlying fundamentals: “Stronger than…

May 5, 2026 April showed us just how sensitive markets can be to a small number of powerful forces: energy prices, inflation and geopolitical risk. The conflict in the Middle East dominated headlines, with a ceasefire helping steady markets even as energy prices remained elevated. The stage could be set for further gains if disruptions…

April 6, 2026 All eyes were turned toward the Middle East throughout the month of March, with the US and Israel’s ongoing conflict with Iran causing energy prices to surge. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, alongside damage to energy infrastructure across the gulf region, caused crude to rise above $100 a barrel for…

March 2, 2026 The mostly flat surface of the S&P 500 through February belied turbulence underneath. AI-driven disruption fears in areas such as software contributed to volatility as investors effectively played whack-a-mole across sectors perceived as vulnerable. The markets rotated away from the mega-cap tech stocks that have been largely responsible for the domestic equity…

February 3, 2026 The month’s market headlines were dominated by a surge in gold prices, a weaker US dollar and stock markets that largely shrugged off ongoing geopolitical tensions. Despite pockets of volatility, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is now approaching the 50,000 mark and all major US equity indices finished January higher, with the…

December 2, 2025 A mid-month bout of volatility focused primarily on the AI tech giants gave way to a broader rally in November’s final days amidst renewed expectations the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the coming weeks. The late surge pushed the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes into…

November 4, 2025 Even with the government shutdown casting a shadow over Washington D.C., equity markets have continued their upward march, fueled by a trifecta of positive surprises: cooler-than-expected inflation, another rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and easing trade tensions. Year-over-year headline inflation ticked up slightly in September while core inflation, which excludes…

October 1, 2025   Despite inflation remaining a concern, the Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates in response to weakening jobs numbers. This allowed small-cap equity performance to lead a month that was generally positive across sectors, cap sizes and asset classes. Small caps tend to be more reactive to short-term rate fluctuations, and the…